The present invention relates to a television receiver for receiving the broadcast wave to process the data contained in the broadcast wave and the picture signal for display, and provide the additional information to the viewer, and more particularly to a so-called two-way television receiver which is having the response function.
Recently, according to the progress of the semiconductor technique and the communication technique the television receiver having higher function have been developed. Especially, compared with the conventional passive TV to just enjoy viewing the picture or audio signal, the television receiver having the higher function that it adds more than the picture and the audio information by multiplexing the digital data by using the digital technique, or it can response to the TV program becomes to be desired.
As the TV which realize such functions mentioned above, there is a Compact Graphical Interactive Broadcast Information System mentioned on the International Application Published under the patent cooperation treaty (PCT) International Patent Class: H04N1/00, International Publication Number: WO96/3466. This document 1 shows the ways to realize the two-way function by multiplexing not only the normal image data but the new data to the TV program. Further, this document shows the way to realize the two-way function by multiplexing the data on the vertical retrace interval which is called VBI (Vertical Blanking Interval).
FIG. 28 shows the construction of the transmission side and the receiving side mentioned on the document.
An image signal input from an input terminal on the transmission side is supplied to an inserting device 3 by an NTSC encoder 2. On the other hand, data for giving a new service are input from an input terminal 6, and the data are encoded in a data encoder 7, then supplied to the inserting device 3. To the data encoder 7 a timing signal is supplied from an information update device 8. The audio signal is omitted to simplify this explanation, however, it is also encoded in the same way as the video signal. In the inserting device 3 one signal is formed by the inserting of the data. The signal is modulated by input in a modulator 4, then output from an output terminal 5.
On the other hand, on the receiving side, the signal output from the transmitter is received in an input terminal 20, then demodulated in a demodulator 21. The demodulated signal is input to an extractor 22, where the data are extracted. And, the output signal of the demodulator 21 is decoded by input in an NTSC decoder 23. The extracted data are taken in a memory 30 via a bus 27 which is connected to a CPU 26 so as to be processed by the software which is driven by the CPU 26. To the bus 27 an image memory 33 is connected, where the result of the data decoding is displayed as the image. And to the bus 27 a photoreceptor 31 for receiving the output signal of a remote controller 32, so as to transmit the response of the user and change the processing of the software.
To the bus 27 a transmission and receiving device, so called a modem 29 is connected, where the response of the user is sent back to the server via a terminal 28. In the modem 29 it is also possible to receive the data from the server by the network.
The output signals from the NTSC decoder 23 and the image memory 33 are synthesized by input to a synthesizing device 24, then output from an output terminal 25. Accordingly, the graphical application constructed by the data which are multiplexed with the video signal is synthesized, so that it is possible to receive and display the TV program which sends the complement information or the response of the program back.
Further this DRAWING shows the construction of the server. The signal output from the terminal 28 on the receiving side is input to a terminal 11, then input to a server 9 via a modem 10. Here, the server is not only for receiving the signal from the receiving side but for transmitting the data to the receiver. In case of outputting the data from the server 9, the data are output from the terminal 11 via the modem 10, then received in the terminal 28 on the receiving side. Accordingly, the data are flowed in two-way between the terminal 11 and the terminal 28.
FIG. 29A shows the construction of the screen constructed by the devices mentioned above. On the display screen the graphic image which is made by decoding the data is displayed with the video signal. On the document mentioned above the section where one picture is displayed by forming one picture and decoding the data is referred as the object. Further, the actual image or text which are displayed as the object is referred as the resources, and the document which mentions the operations of the object or form is referred as the script.
Further, the consecutive program which is constructed by these forms is referred as the application.
FIG. 29B shows the relation of the elements constructing these applications. The whole applications are defined a specific form called the application form. The application form shows the numbers or construction of the whole forms, objects, resources, and scripts which are used for the application. The application form prescribes which form is used next. In each form an object construction one form is defined. In the object the resources and the pointer of the script showing the content of the object are shown. One application is constructed by the constructions mentioned above.
Further, the document mentioned above shows that the transmission is executed by storing each element in the record when these elements are transmitted.
FIG. 30 shows the stratum constructions of the record and the application. The information of the application form defining the whole application is transmitted by an application header record 41, where the information showing the script and form which is carried out first in the application is stored. The information of the form is stored in a form record 42, where the numbers showing the object and the resources used for the object and the position information showing the script are contained.
All scripts are collected into one and transmitted by a script record 43. In case of the resources, the resources are transmitted by resource records 44 and 45, respectively.
These records are divided into the transmission units called blocks, then these are transmitted after the headers of the blocks are added to them. As mentioned above, the application in the document are constructed by many constructing elements. The graphical elements shown in the picture which construction is set up by the form are shown as the object. In this case, for instance, the operation that the user changes the content of the text by pushing the button is mentioned as the script.
As described above, in the two-way television system shown in the document, one application is divided into several construction elements and transmitted so that the data are easily multiplexed, and the interactive application is realized by the operation of the script. However there arc drawbacks when this system is applied to the digital broadcast receiver:
(A) In the digital broadcast the video signal is decoded by the exact timing. However, the digital broadcast does not have a synchronizing function by decoding the graphical elements of the application and the digital image signal. Accordingly, the timing control style to display by executing the application related with the video signal which is constructing the TV program is not defined exactly. In the conventional embodiment since there is no relationship between the video signal and the data to be multiplexed, the display timings of the video signal and the decoded data are not defined.
Further, in the conventional embodiment, since the operation of the application is decided by the script it is necessary to make the script when the application is made. The conventional embodiment does not provide the effective function to use the stream in the digital broadcast and to provide the application which does not always need the script.
(B) In the digital broadcast, since the capacity of the transmission protocol will be expanded, it is considered that the function is updated by the download function on the receiving side. On the other hand, in the conventional embodiment, the text or the bitmap data are defined as the resources, however, since these decoding function is fixed there is no flexibility. That is, there is no countermeasure to correspond to the compression algorithm of the bitmap image having better compression efficiency for the future.
Further, there is no consideration for the adding function of the application program to add the specific function.
(C) Usually, the TV receiver has a function for parameter set up of the receiver of protocol display called OSD (On Scrceed Display). The digital broadcast needs the EPG (Electric Program Guide) to select an appropriate protocol by the user since the number of the protocols will be expanded in accordance with an increase of protocols. Accordingly, having these two-function separately in the TV receiver increases the cost of the TV receiver. Further, the effective way to use the EPG function is not provided in the conventional embodiment.
(D) In the digital broadcast the video, audio, and data arc transmitted by the transport stream prescribed by ISO/IEC 13818-1 (document 2) called the MEPG 2 systems. This prescription shows the way to execute the function on the receiving side by several information which are defined in the stream, however, since the transmission way shown in the conventional embodiment has no relation with the transport stream it does not use the information prescribed in the stream effectively.
(E) In the conventional embodiment, the data are received by a so-called carousel system which transmits the data repeatedly. In the digital broadcast the data are also transmitted repeatedly by the data carousel system of the DSM-cc prescribed in the ISO/IDC 13818-6 (document 3), so that the conventional embodiment does not use the information defined in the stream to execute the data carousel system in the digital broadcast effectively.
(F) In the digital broadcast the image format is not only one, but many horizontal and vertical resolutions are defined. Through he image compressing form is prescribed in the ISO/IEC 13818-2, the image formats are different by the profiles or levels. In the conventional embodiment the synthesizing display of the image is shown, however, there is no way to correspond to the different image format flexibly. The position of the coordinates of the object is changeable by the display processing, and the compressing expansion processing of the bitmap image can be executed by inserting repeatedly or thin, down the pixel. However, this way of compressing expansion of the image causes the remarkable image deterioration.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital broadcast TV receiver which can solve the drawbacks mentioned above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an intelligent digital television receiver that receives the data multiplexed with the video or audio transmitted on the digital broadcast, and executes the new service by these video, audio or data.
In order to achieve the above object, an intelligent digital television receiver according to one aspect of the present invention for receiving a video signal, an audio signal and a digital data transmitted in a digital broadcast, and executes an application either executing together with a video or audio or executing independently, has a controller for controlling executions of applications by generating events according to event start information bearing time information contained in a digital data stream as an object which comprises an element of the application and another controller for controlling executions of the application.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings, which are hereby incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification.